(Saturday)
You know when
you were a kid and when you played with plastercine you held a lump of
the stuff in your hand and squiggled it down in a small condensed ball?
Imagine that the lump you started off with was the Glastonbury festival
and after all the pressing and squeezing you were left with a very small
condensed version, this my friends is Bestival. One of the newest festivals
on the block situated in a theme park on the Isle Of Wright and has just
celebrated its second year. We caught a ferry over on the Saturday to
see what the fuss was about and were very pleasantly surprised.
Even though Roy Castle and Norris McWhirter have disappeared to the record
breaking heights of heaven the quest for setting a record is something
which many of us find a challenging and entertaining process. This includes
the organizers of Bestival as the gauntlet was laid down to host the biggest
fancy dress party in the world. OK, it wasn't that challenging as if just
three people opted for a cowboy or Indian outfit the record would had
been set, but nevertheless the Western theme proved very popular. The
fancy dress shop at the main entrance of Robin Hill Country Park proved
to be very popular and the sight of grown men walking around with feathers
in their caps and toy guns in their belts was pretty impressive. Last
night these people watched The Magic Numbers close the Friday night and
camped in their tents. Tonight they would watch acts such at St. Etienne,
Soulwax, 2 Many DJ's and Röyksopp before retiring back to their Wigwams
and Teepees.
The great thing about Bestival is that it caters for all ages, unlike
most Summer festivals kids and old people are very much welcome and thanks
to the small, but compact area nothing is out of walking distance. The
disabled platform is vast and once a wheelchair is taken up a few steps
the viewing area is undercover. The big top proved a favorite for people
who were missing their weekend dance clubs and those who couldn't find
the hidden disco, which incidentally was located backstage of the casino.
The JD tent was crammed to capacity with music lovers wishing to catch
new talent and Strongbow had a massive dance tent next to the market area.
Another bonus was decent food which is something of a rarity at festivals.
For people who wanted to be one at nature the Sauna warmed visitors in
the campsite area and warm drinks were served in the reception area.
The VIP area had the best thing ever. A pub! On the top of the hill the
drinking post provided the ideal way to escape the madness and for those
lucky enough to blag an invite to the Topman/Dazed & Confused Lock-in
at midnight it was the 'best' way to end the day with free beer flowing
until 2am. Although a purely staff party we bumped into Razorlight's Johnny
Borrell's brother who was snapping photos for a magazine he works for.
Lucky Babyshambles wasn't playing then!
Bestival is a very enjoyable weekend no matter how old you are and has
now concrete itself on the annual ABLE2 agenda. It seems that the spirit
of Glastonbury will be captured next year after all.
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